Sharn With Giant Robots Beta

[Elvith Jars]

Nuke the site from orbit? Must be an arcane reference. If I wasn't flying extraction and didn't have a more important mission to consider, I'd ram this thing down the bad guys' throat and into Khyber! I'm not above taking a one-way mission if it means more lives will be saved. Come to think of it, when I went downtime, I probably did.

"So, flying way up high, then right down again real fast and letting loose the rock- a dive bombard attack- that would get that rock going even faster? I think we should pick up some big rocks! Uh, I'm thinkin in terms of a 'parting gift' here, to deter pursuit, after picking up Dove. If we bombard their compound from above with enough rocks to damage them, at the least we'll slow them down. They're gonna be mad at us anyway, so why not at injury to insult?"

[The_Snark]

"The negotiations... are complicated," Dove sends back after a pause. "They don't want total warfare, but they can't really get what they're trying for without conflict. They have a semi-legitimate grievance, but... maybe I should just save the explanations for in person."

"Anyway, they're going to let me go in a little while; should I let them know they can just send me in your direction?"

[Nerd-o-rama]

Hmph. 'Legitimate grievance.' That's crap, they just want our stuff like everyone else who starts a war.

"Yeah," Rin says publically. "Do that, Dove. I think an exchange on neutral ground is best for us right now. Just have them drop you off and we'll pick you up."

Privately to Angel, she adds "Stop it. It's no fun for me to the damn level-headed one in this group. I know a bad idea when I see it, but damn it if it isn't tempting. Go back to giving good advice."

[The_Snark]

"Affirmative," Dove says over the comm.

Back in the enemy base, Dove tilts her head slightly. "Wow. Hey, listen—I'm picking up some communications from Brelish forces in the area, looking for me. Do you want to drop me off with them, instead of trying to find the airship again?"

[Elvith Jars]

"Well hey," Angel says over the private comm, "I'm just speculating here. We have a serious disadvantage when it comes to firepower against these guys, so we need any advantage we can get. Gar Adduran aside, our mobile suits hardly made a dent in that dinomech, so whatever we can use as a weapon gives us that much more we can use against them. For all we know, Thrane is ahead of the game on us too.

OK well if the- uh, what do we call them- Insurgents? - actually do drop off Dove at some neutral location, be better make sure it's not gonna end up as an ambush. Because that's what I'd do- use Dove as bait to get Breland's forces in the area, and then do a surgical strike to take those forces out. If I had superior firepower, I could do that easily. So we'll probably need to snatch and grab- get in, grab Dove, then bug out quick, using the Gar Adduran for cover. Then take Dove somewhere NOT aboard ship to make sure she hasn't been wired for mass destruction. Who knows what sorts of nasty magics they could've stuck her with."

[Nerd-o-rama]

Rin grins. "Well hey, good thing we're equipped for that," she says to Angel. "And I think 'Insurgent' would be if they were partisans somewhere we had invaded militarily. 'Invaders' is cheesy and unoriginal...'Investigators', maybe? If they're really a forward force testing our military?"

"And a surprise attack would be good. The thing is, I don't think they're fighting us seriously yet," Rin observes. "They're holding back, conserving their strength, coming at us one at a time. If we give them a proper bloody nose, they're not going to back down. They're going to hit us with everything they've got out of sheer rage. We need to be ready for that, or be able to take them out all at once. Throwing expensive equipment at them, while hilarious, is only going to make them angry. If we can get better machines, ones that can do more damage to them..."

[Elvith Jars]

"Ya. If. Good luck getting an Adduran anytime soon... I suppose you're right though, if we gave 'em a bloddy nose we might not be ready for their response. But if we could rally the Five Nations, heck, unite all the states- er, nations- of Khorvaire..."

Come to think of it, the United States of Khorvaire has a nice ring to it...

[Magnus_Samma]

"I'm not letting anyone dive bomb or try to dive bomb or almost dive bomb anything into anything on this one," Kara says slightly wearily, "this is a simple retrieval operation. If we have to engage the enemy then I expect you to do so with any and all neccessary force, but I would rather not lose any of you to a half-assed suicide attack if I can help it. These guys will get theirs- we don't have any more Addurans to hand out, but there is a lot of research going into the next generation of mobile suits already. When we get back to Wroat we may have some surprises for you. For now, nobody tries to be a hero except me. That's an order."

Keras blinks. "They're coming for you? Interesting... that's more credit than I would have given them. Alright, we'll go out and meet them. Come on."

He heads for the courtyard, which is currently empty.

[Winged One]

Achille quietly angsts about what a bloodthirsty maniac he must be to have come up with a "kill them all" plan that was shot down by Rin. He responds to Kara's order with a grateful "Yes, ma'am."

[Nova_Eclipse]

Thrax just shakes his head and gets an idea. He gains a bit of altitude, then flips his craft upside down for a moment, scanning the trees as he begins to loose altitude. When he gets close to the treetops, he flips the craft back over and begins climbing again, making passes around the area to see if he can spot any sort of fortification where the intruders may have fled...

[Nerd-o-rama]

"I trust scientists to give us better weapons way more than I trust politicians to give us more allies," Rin leaves as a parting comment to Angel.

Focusing on the whole gang again, including Dove, she says, "Alright. Have them take you out to somewhere open and preferably elevated, and let us know how to spot it from the air."

[Lucid_Archon]

"I promise I won't try to be a hero," Liz replies, "But I think we could really use one right about now." She inches her Raptor a fraction closer to Rin's, then takes a moment to lament her uselessness.

[Elvith Jars]

You'd be surprised, Rin, give it a couple or four decades and see what the diplomats can do, Angel thinks to herself, watcing curiously as Thrax flies upside down.

[Nerd-o-rama]

"No musical numbers!" Rin yells. In the awkward silence that follows: "Um...never mind."

[Magnus_Samma]

Assuming Dove has no objections, Keras takes her into the middle of the courtyard and wraps an arm around her waist.

"Hold on," he says, bringing his other hand and the small metal capsule on his wristband to his mouth.

"Now, Gao! Rise!"

There is a subterranean rumble, and the ground beneath them trembles. The dry earth cracks.

Silence.

Keras sighs and shouts into his wristband. "Today if it's not too much trouble!"

The ground splits and crumbles away, and Dove finds herself standing atop an enormous fist forged or blood red metal. The fist punches upwards, reaching into the sky and carrying Dove and Keras upwards, until the forest and the castle are both far below and the two of them are left standing atop the outstretched arm of yet another enormous robot, a red-armored humanoid figure with porportionally large, bulky forearms and a head unit sculpted into a strongly-featured face with a permanently stern expression. Gao begins to slowly walk forward through the forest, while Keras scans the horizon.

"They should be able to see us from here pretty well," he says conversationally, "I think that's the robot that beat the crap out of Medea over thataway. Let's head over and say hi."

Thrax is the first to notice the really big red fist coming up out of the forest and head in their direction, but the others see it coming soon enough.

[The_Snark]

Dove has no objections, and holds on as the fist shoots into the air.

Over the comm, she says, "Okay, you can probably see us coming now. By the way, the commander probably shouldn't talk. And don't mention her by name."

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Man, that's big--I mean, roger," Rin says, banking her Windrider in the direction of the large red mechanoid. "Hm. That one's red. Think it's the leader?"

"So guys, rapid extraction, or do we land and make nice?"

[Winged One]

Achille's eyes go wide with fear and envy, then go blank. "Understood." He listens to Rin's questions, then says "Casfal might work for them and pilot it. It definitely doesn't go faster. The Windriders seem more than fast enough to get away, but they might not be agile enough to not get killed doing it. But if we try to negotiate, they'd probably want to talk to the Commander, and I don't think any of us are good enough at lying to convince them that the one in charge isn't the one with the best mech."

[Elvith Jars]

"I think we should just stick with the plan, pick her up, and leave. Dove says they're letting her go, so no sense in trying a rapid extraction just yet. We can have that in our back pocket if things go south."

[Nova_Eclipse]

Thrax begins circling the giant mech as the others approach, taking in the details of its features and construction. He spots Dove and Keras on the mech's hand, but doesn't make a move to land, at least, yet.

[Lucid_Archon]

Liz begins to sweat the sweat of pure fear. "I hope this thing really is the best unit they have. Everybody has their wills made out, correct?"

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Liz! Calm down, alright? That thing looks tough, but it's not airborne. Just stay cool and you'll be fine," Rin says, wondering what's gotten into the girl all of a sudden.

"And screw wills, I want to be buried with all my crap Giant-style. Best way to stay famous in adventuring circles, ya know?"

"Alright, revised plan..." Rin says, considering the possibilities in her head. "Me and Achille land and pick up Dove. Bad guy gets uppity, we're the two that can fend him off best. Angel stands by with the rapid extraction plan in case things go south. Everyone else, cover us and stay safe. Any problems?"

((Does anyone on this team have any actual social skills? I'm betting no.))

[Elvith Jars]

"Roger that, honcho."

{{Angel has Diplomacy +9, Sense Motive +2, and Profession (escort) +9, not that the latter skill will help much.)

[Winged One]

"Mission accepted."

[Nerd-o-rama]

((Hm. Well, if this comes up again, Rin will bring her. Unfortunately, this time she's the one carrying the backup plan.))

"Alright Dove. Tell the guy to drop you off in a clearing somewhere and we'll pick you up. He can stick around if he wants, but we're coming down under a white flag for now."

[The_Snark]

((As it happens, Dove has some good social skill modifiers, and can boost other people's a little.))

"Acknowledged." To Keras, she says, "That's them. They'd like you to put me down in a clearing, so they can come down and pick me up."

[Nerd-o-rama]

Assuming that the Investigator agrees to meet on the ground, Rin will try to land her Windrider as smoothly as possible, guiding Achille in beside her. She'll get out and immediately try to size up the enemy and the situation.

If he does not do so, my attempt to speed up a scene change fails.

[Magnus_Samma]

"They could just land in the other hand," says Keras with a roguish grin, but Gao nonetheless strides towards the nearest clearing and slowly lowers them to the ground. The thing is clearly intended for melee combat, sporting heavy armor and huge cylindrical forearms with piston-like projections on the elbows serving some unguessable purpose. It is largely unornamented, but there's something about the large pack-like construction on the back that looks to conceal more surprises.

"Should I back off a bit?" asks Keras. "I think I'm making them nervous."

Kara has, silently, drawn the Gar Adduran's greatsword. She makes no move to attack, but hovers ominously in place, within easy range of the mech's chest gun.

"Love to see what that thing's made of," chuckles the Investigator, "if Anavel wouldn't have a fit about it I'd give it a go right now. Oh well, plenty of time for that later, hm? We're not so bad once you get to know us- well, Medea is, and Baal's creepy as hell, but we won't do too badly by you guys. Keep that in mind when you're plotting the inevitable albeit doomed rebellion, will you?"

[Nerd-o-rama]

"Yeah, yeah," Rin responds to his posturing as she stands in the open cockpit of her aircraft. "You say 'rebellion' like you think you've already won this fight. Who the hell do you think we are, anyway? We're the elite of Breland's mobile suit pilots, the"

Hey, Liz and Kara aren't her to contradict me.

"Crimson Lotus Squad!" she says. "Anyway, Dove, you ready to get back?"

[Winged One]

Achille just observes in stoic silence, noticing that Rin is acting the exact same as she always does.